Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
comic strip overdue media

Monday, February 29, 2016

Happy leap day, or

as my word of the day puts it,  bissextus. Just a quick note to say hi,  really.  Yesterday we played the game again for the first time since before Christmas,  and while it was fun,  I got home late and didn't get much sleep.  The highlight of my day today was giving blood (pint 42). I've been tired all day,  unrelated to that,  and as the day wore on,  I've gotten quite a few aches where rain is coming.  A friend gave me some 8-hour Tylenol Arthritis,  and I made him soy dogs and we watched 'Ugly Betty'.

I'm home now,  which is good,  as I have to go over at 5:30 am tomorrow to pick someone up and get him to an appointment by 8 am,  which is always a challenge. So now it's a little after 10:30 pm,  so time for bed.  Good night!

Sunday, February 28, 2016

I feel

Like I've run all over Creation today (and nearly got stuck in the unholy morass that is Tiverton Way). Today I have gone:

1) To pick up a friend at his house
2) Taken him to the pharmacy
3) Dropped him off at the barber
4) Returned home
5) Ate and took meds while playing Civilization IV
6) Went back to his house right as he was getting home in the bus
7) Got lost with him on Tiverton Way looking for Scrub World
8) Had to get in another lane when leaving the area so I wouldn't wind up blocking the intersection
9) Managed to get in the right lane and go to a men's clothing shop,  turning at the right place
10) Found they were closing out stock,  didn't have what we were looking for,  and their new store is...yes,  in Tiverton Way
11) Gave up on the clothing run
12) Went to the grocery
13) Found Homemade brand coconut almond chocolate chip ice cream -- one all three of us love--a lot
14) Spent time with YKWIA while A watched the basketball game and a movie about Scientology
15) Watched 'Ugly Betty' and 'Star Trek: Voyager'
16) Called Brenda about playing the game tomorrow
17) Helped clean up the library at their house
18) Spent time with YKWIA

Now I' m home and very,  very tired.  Good night.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Okay, so much for a half-hour nap

But I am finally warm. It just took awhile. That’s not like me, but I’ve been cold all day. We’re in a cold snap sandwiched between two warm weekends, and this morning I inadvisably did dishes before taking a shower, and I have a small apartment-sized hot water heater, so by the time I was finished and in the shower, it was not merely lukewarm but quite cold.

But I’m up now. I cleaned the toilet and the countertop in the bathroom. I’ll have to wait on vacuuming—I don’t want to annoy the neighbours. I’m going to eat a couple of small burritos, because I didn’t eat properly earlier, and then consider doing some things in the dining area. Among other things, I have some grey plastic tubs that I should go through, and while that’s not going to happen tonight, they need to be placed against the wall in a stack where the table that was put in their place was. Otherwise they’re sticking out into my escape path. I mean, I can get around them, but they are jutting out pretty far. I may sit on the couch and listen to some music and fold laundry, too. We’ll see. If not, reading before it’s time for bed (I want to go in early to work so that I can get my allergy shot) is a definite option.

I'm alone tonight

And I seriously considered going to the library,  as tomorrow is the last day the Eagle Creek branch is open.  They're encouraging people to check out lots of books and keep them until Eastside opens at Palumbo and Man O'War on March 15th (so there's lead to move). But I'm cold,  so I've turned the heat up a little and I'm under the covers and plan on taking a short nap before doing more on the house. I straightened up the kitchen this morning when I did dishes and took out the trash and recyclables.  The bath is fine; I'll do a quick once over with the toilet and countertop and that should be all it needs.  I want to do some vacuuming before it gets late,  and I'd also like to work on getting the clean laundry,  which is mostly on the dining table,  refolded and put away.  Then I'd like to do some reading and Latin review. But first, a half-hour  (in theory)  nap.

In fact, this is the first candidate who really gels well with my beliefs



Say what you will about Bernie Sanders, he is incredibly consistent, as opposed to his opponent, a woman, yes, but one I don't trust at all. I really believe that Sanders will do everything in his power to improve the lives of the average American and make this a better world for our progeny.

Seen on Facebook today

Okay, sometimes I do stray into politics, and those of you who have been reading for awhile know I am one of those over-educated unabashed liberals. But as far as I can tell, anyone with any sense should worry about Donald Trump, and yet plenty of people in our reality-TV modern 21st-century world seem to be supporting him, which worries me. And whenever I see him compared to Hitler, there's all these people who say 'read your history books, he's no Hitler!' Funny, they should read their history books and see how Hitler got his start. Sigh.

How America Made Donald Trump Unstoppable: He's no ordinary con man. He's way above average — and the American political system is his easiest mark ever



I saw this yesterday, and I love it

Kids get shelter dogs' tails wagging by reading them tales
Through a slide show, the kids learn to recognize stress signals in a dog's body language. They also learn how to approach such dogs — sitting sideways, with quiet voices and "library behavior" — and how to reward them with kibble if they respond.

While the shelter doesn't have hard numbers, Klepacki believes the program has made a huge difference. "Just look at the dogs in these photos," she said. "These were dogs that before were hiding in the backs of the rooms with their tails tucked. You can see the connection — you can see them responding to those kids."
The kids get reading practice and develop empathy, and the dogs learn to calm down and come out of their shells. It's a win-win situation.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

For some reason

Google Chrome has not been loading on my laptop when I try to get on the Internet, which is one reason I haven't blogged much lately. Instead I've had to blog on my phone, which has certain limits on using the Blogger mobile application, and the browser doesn't work at all for Blogger in terms of filling in the boxes, at least on Google Chrome. So...

In the time it took Chrome to come up and hang up, I used Microsoft Edge (which I don't like) to download and install Firefox. Now I'm online with no trouble. So it may have been a Chrome issue. Pity, I do like Chrome, but only if it works.

I was in scheduling yesterday and today, and both days were busy yet alright. Yesterday there was an appointment, too, and I went and got something for a friend at the pharmacy while he was at the doctor's office. Of course, there was something else to get today due to that visit. So I've been to the pharmacy, which is clear across town, but which we prefer to the big mega-pharmacies, twice in two days. After I delivered the item, I read through and proofread a document he wrote up, and then headed home. I'm behind on my cleaning venture, and tomorrow we have the pest control people coming in, so I need to have the kitchen and bathroom in good shape. Mainly I need to wash the handwashable dishes, take out the trash, and the recyclables, something I haven't done yet. Of course, after starting out warm this morning it's very cold outside and also very windy. We're supposed to get snow sometime overnight, maybe a dusting up to three inches. I'm not in scheduling tomorrow, but I expect there will be quite a few cancellations--they've been cancelling for two days already out of concern for the weather, even though it should be a mild snow, the ground is quite warm, and it will warm up in a day or two (60 degrees on Sunday). Spring seems to be around the corner (my allergies prove it), and that's great. We had a statewide tornado drill Tuesday to kick off the storm season, as well.

So it's been a busy week, so busy that yesterday I was in bed by 10 and still had trouble getting up this morning. The alarm went off at 6 am and I think I hit snooze several times till 8:10. Mind you, I need to be at work by 8:30. Fortunately I live very close to work. :)

There was something I saw today which was pretty cool, and has librarians across the country celebrating. President Obama has appointed (subject to Congressional approval, of course) a new Librarian of Congress. It's history-making because she would be the first woman, and she is black. But we're just happy that she's an actual librarian by training (it usually isn't, and the last Librarian was not, actually, a librarian by training). Her name is Carla Hayden:

Obama nominates African American woman to be Librarian of Congress
Hayden is the chief executive of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, a job she has had for 22 years. She drew praise and criticism for her decision to keep the library open during last year’s protests over the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. As the head of the American Library Association in 2003-2004, Hayden took on U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft over measures in the Patriot Act that she considered an invasion of privacy. And she is credited with updating Pratt’s technology and launching programs to meet the community’s needs.
Anyway, yay. Let's hope she'll be confirmed, and that the Congress (and the Republicans who would like to obstruct just about anything the President tries to do in his last eleven months in office) aren't poopheads about it.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Yesterday I learned a new Latin word

Crustulum -- cookie or small cake/pastry,  as in 'Mater puellae crustulum dat.' :)  I never came across that in school,  and I had five semesters of Classical Latin and one of Mediaeval Latin.  But it was buried in an exercise in Wheelock's.  I learned Latin from five of the books in the Ecce Romani  series, which starts you out with simple readings of composed Latin and builds vocabulary before learning the nuances of grammar, much as we learn language as children. My friends learned from the Oxford Latin series,  which follows Horace as a boy,  and which had more genuine Latin writings.  Wheelock's Latin  is a more traditional method,  starting strongly with grammar and memorisation. But it is the classic method of learning the language,  and is very useful for my review. I have the sixth edition on my Kindle, and while where are a few errors in that format,  I know the language well enough that I recognise them.  I have an older edition in paperback,  too.  I thought I had the accompanying reader,  but apparently not.   Anyway,  I was happy to come across a new word.  I an such a language geek.

A slow day

But now it's over.  Work was kind of slow,  but tomorrow will be busy because I'm back in scheduling.  Same goes for Wednesday.  Today after work I took a friend to physical therapy,  but I didn't have it because I've transitioned out for now.  I practiced my Latin while I waited,  making it through four chapters of Wheelock's Latin,  plus another couple from Ecce Romani!   I'm trying to review some every day as part of keeping my fluency and exercising my brain.  I also did several crosswords on my phone.

Yesterday I did my laundry and helped with the Sunday chores over at my friends',  but one of them sat me down and told me it was high time I watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off,  which I missed thirty years ago when it came out. I liked it a lot,  and it was nice to see landmarks of Chicago I recognised.

Tonight after we got in we watched 'Ugly Betty',  visited,  and somehow it was midnight when I got home,  so I'm headed to bed.  Good night!

Sunday, February 21, 2016

So much for going on to bed

But I did get the fish tanks filled,  so that's one task for tomorrow that's already finished.  Of course,  I may have overdone it.  I'm using a five pound dry weight bucket and the first trip I didn't have a chair ready and lifted it from the floor,  which is not good for someone with neck issues and little upper body strength.  If I keep that up I'll be back in PT before I know it.  Let's not do that.

Good night for real,  this time.

Meanwhile

This is happening at home.  It bloomed at the holidays and is having another go.  Beautiful,  yes?

Oooh

I am excited because at work an orchid that a coworker gave me two years ago that was ailing,  and which is now green and healthy and well-rooted,  is about to bloom.  She thinks it was yellow.  I have never gotten an orchid to bloom before,  although all of them (I have four)  are healthy and several have long aerial roots. The woman that gave it to me and a security guard who loves plants are watching with me. I'll keep you posted.

Not a bad two hours' work

The plants are watered, I've done the dishwasher dishes, and I've moved a table over by the door and set up a landing point for mail, along with the sorting box and an 'out' divider. I've also found a spot for the shredder that was on the table. I'd offered to shred some cheque books for a friend, so I wanted to make sure I had easy access to it. I moved the old lamp A gave me over by the computer, too, so I have light by that desk as well.

It's right after midnight. I'm listening to Of Monsters and Men's 'Slow and Steady'. I'm not really sleepy (I have had quite a bit of caffeine today), but I should close the windows and go on to bed, as I need to do some things in the morning and then take my laundry over to my friends' house and help them with Sunday chores.

By the way, I was sorry to hear that Harper Lee died the other day. I had just gotten Go Set a Watchman out of the library a couple of days before. I love To Kill a Mockingbird. It is probably my favourite book I ever had to read for school. The movie is excellent, too, of course.

Okay, I'm going to skip to my favourite song on this album, 'Your Bones', listen to it, and then shut everything up and prepare for bed. I think it got up to 70 today, and it's still warm outside, but alas, I live on the first floor and no longer have a dog, so no sleeping overnight with the windows open. I'm trying to enjoy the weather while I can; it starts raining tonight and into tomorrow, and then midweek we could have snow again and it will be colder.

Good night. Hope you're having a good weekend so far.

Saturday, February 20, 2016

By the way

I sent off my taxes today. Yes, it will take awhile to get my refund compared to electronic filing, but it took less time than the frustrating day I had with TurboTax and they don't get $106 of it. Yay!

Nesting and purging

So, all the going in and out this winter has left my house a bit of a wreck, and although I went through a good period of keeping it neat, now there’s stuff everywhere, getting slowly worse over the winter. And so I am planning to do some spring cleaning/purging, inspired by today’s lovely weather, although it will continue when wintry weather returns. Tonight the windows are open to let in some fresh air and I'm listening to peppy music to get going.

So here is the plan:
    Great House Purge/Spring Cleaning 2016
      Normal cleaning --Tonight
    1. Gather trash and recyclables.
    2. Load dish washer and do a cycle.
    3. Excavate loveseat.
    4. Reverse grey boxes, dining room end table.
    5. Water and rearrange plants.
    6. Straighten up living room.
      Normal cleaning--Sunday
    1. Put water in fish tanks.
    2. Wash plastic dishes.
    3. Gather dirty laundry.
    4. Take trash out.
    5. Take recyclables out.
    6. Do laundry over at my friends’ while helping them with their house.
      Normal cleaning--This week (2/22-2/28)
    1. Clean bathroom.
    2. Straighten up kitchen.
    3. Fold old clean laundry.
    4. Put away laundry.
    5. Straighten up dining room.
    6. Vacuum living and dining areas.
    7. Excavate bedroom floor.
    8. Return things to closets.
    9. Straighten up bedroom.
    10. Vacuum bedroom.
      Purging Begins--Next week (2/29-2-3/6)
    1. Clean out grey totes that will now be in dining room.
    2. Weed clothes.
    3. Give away old clothes.
      Purging Continues--Next two weeks after that (3/7-3/20)
    1. Rearrange computer desk and go through papers on its shelf.
    2. Weed and rearrange books a shelving unit at a time.
    3. Catalogue books.
    4. Run any weeded books by YKWIA in case he wants them.
    5. Give rejects to the library.
    6. Clean out entertainment center.
      Purging Continues--Week of 3/21-2/27
    1. Rearrange cabinets in kitchen and give away anything not wanted to a food bank.
    2. Clean out linen/bathroom closet.
      Purging Continues--Week of 3/28-4/3
    1. Clean out walk-in closet and give away anything not wanted.
      Purging Continues--Weeks of 4/4-4/17
    1. Clean out bedroom closets and give away anything not wanted.
    2. Take any electronic cords, items, not wanted to be recycled at the Lexington Reycling Centre.
    3. Set up window boxes (which right now have two-year-old geraniums).
I try to do this about once a year. The plan starts with normal cleaning and getting things back to being livable. Then over time I will go through and clean out closets and cabinets and giving away what isn’t needed. This year I have an ambitious goal: weeding books. I have about fourteen bookshelves in an apartment that has about 780 square feet. I need to rearrange them. Everything’s on shelves, and about half are in order, but I’d like to get them in good order and catalogued. YKWIA gets first stab at any of the rejects; after that they’ll go to the library (I could try to sell them to Half-Price Books, but I learned a long time that you get squat for ANYTHING (books, CDs, etc.) there.

Okay, if this is going to work, I need to get to work. I’ve been doing a lot of other stuff today and the night is almost gone. But I do want to get the dishes done and the fish and plants taken care of tonight. That won’t take too long. Plus, there’s some general straightening up to do, and the living room should be in good shape. We’re not playing the game again yet, so I have some time tomorrow morning and then I’ll go over to YKWIA and A’s and help them with their house, do my laundry, watch ‘Lucifer’ with them, and then A and I plan on coming over here and working out at the complex gym. Wish us luck.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

This is a sad commentary on our society

Endangered baby dolphin dies after swimmers pass it around for selfies
Video footage of last week’s incident shows the animal being scooped up by a man and quickly surrounded by a curious mob eager to touch the animal.

The miniature dolphin, no more than a few feet long, is eventually left to die in the mud, where it can be seen lying motionless.

At no point in the footage does it appear that anyone in the crowd intervened or attempted to return the animal to the water.
These people should be ashamed. Granted, separated from its mother, it might not have survived if it had been put back in the sea, but at least it would have had a better chance than being manhandled by a mob who thought only of themselves and how cool the whole thing was rather than the welfare of a baby animal and left it to die in the mud.

Feeling better today

Happy and having a good day, but not too high and weird. I went to the pharmacy after work and got some medicine for a friend, and then another friend paid for us to have a meal at Long John Silver's. We watched the movie My Babysitter's a Vampire, which explained the backstory to the series. It'a a fun Canadian kids show that mocks Twilight mercilessly. :) Then I went to Kroger and got a few things, along with some creamer, and talked to a nice Jewish man and his father who was buying pomelos and the strange spiky melon we once tried at the game that was so weird. Now I'm home and listening to Jesus Christ, Superstar again (it's the movie soundtrack), and I'm early into the recording, at 'Everything's Alright'. I paid a slew of bills today, and I'm trying to make every dollar stretch as much as I can so I'm not hungry again, while working in my budget.

Tomorrow there's work, which should be fairly light. I may do some cataloguing and try to get my pile of new books down since I'm about to start back in scheduling. Then my friend has an evening appointment, and then there's 'Grimm', I'm assuming. So far, I don't have any weekend plans. I don't know if we're playing the game this weekend yet. Saturday there will be the grocery run with A. I also may stop by Tire Discounters and have them check my battery cables, as every once in awhile my car cranks slowly, but then if I get it a little rest, it starts right up. The battery's just two months old. I'm hoping it's as simple as a loose connexion, and not something like the starter or alternator.

I think I'm going to get comfy, go into the bedroom, and do some reading, while finishing with the album. Good night. Oooh. We're up to 'This Jesus Must Die'; I love Caiphas' low voice, and his and Annas' voices play off each other, as Annas is a high tenor.

3 am and I'm wide awake

And not sleepy or tired.  I think I'm definitely hypomanic,  triggered by my menstrual cycle.  I was depressed for days prior to my menses and especially during,  and as it almost finished I felt almost euphoric in comparison,  with every detail seeming to matter suddenly,  no need for sleep,  talking quickly,  thoughts racing, feeling sensual and hyperaware.  Yep,  classic symptoms.  I'm in my third day of that. Perimenopause is going to be great and yes,  I'm being a bit sarcastic. If my hormones shifts are going to cause mood swings,  and they have at the very least caused dysphoria during menses most of my life,  then I'm in for an interesting monthly ride.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

I wonder

If the hormone changes I've had over the past month have tipped me into a mild bipolar cycle.  First I was blah and lifeless,  now I have all this energy,  and YKWIA was saying the other day that I was talking a mile a minute,  which could be push of speech.  That could explain the lack of appetite,  too. Hmm... Maybe I have something to bring up to my doctor next time see him. My meds may need some adjusting.

I have no appetite tonight

Which wouldn't be bad,  but I don't want my blood sugar going low again.  I finally ate a few stale hazelnut Nuthin crackers,  maybe four.  This is weird to me.  I'm trying to be mindful of my hunger and only way when I am truly hungry.  But tonight I just am not, and even if I had a wider variety of food to choose from,  I doubt I would have any more of one. Odd.

PS

This library still has tax forms and instructions to pick up so you can do your taxes. Yay! Take that, TurboTax!

I've had a very good day so far

with one notable exception. From the moment I got out of bed I've been bubbly and enjoying life. The first thing I did was get a CD set of Jesus Christ, Superstar onto my laptop (it's on my desktop, but that's over at YKWIA's, as he's borrowing my computer until we can get his power supply fixed). I really wanted to listen to it on my phone at work. So I did that, realising that the reason why the last time I ripped one of my CDs there were no tags or metadata on them and they came out as Track 1, Track 2, etc., was that I'm not normally connected to the Internet at home these days. So I went on my phone's hotspot and got the information so it would transfer correctly. That took a little while. Afterwards I took a shower, got dressed, and started to leave, then remembered that I planned to go to the library after work (I have an evening to myself tonight, negotiated in exchange for staying late to make dinner and watch something at YKWIA's last night when he wanted company.) So I went back, got the computer and headed out to work.

One thing I will miss from my commute is being close enough to work that I can, on a good day like today, make the journey in the space it takes to listen to one-and-a-half songs. Then, I was inexplicably happy to see the Shred-It truck outside, because that meant my shredding bin would be emptied, and I'd planned to do some file purging and organising today, so I'd have space. I am also very happy that an orchid in the office is budding, the first time I've ever had an orchid do that (and I have four). I've never had an orchid rebloom, although they all have healthy leaves and root systems. This one was given to me two years ago by a co-worker because it was languishing in her office, which is interior, and it's now by a window and loves the northeastern exposure. She thinks it's yellow. We'll (hopefully) see soon.

The one disappointing thing about today is I got a rather nice letter from the University of Louisville telling me that they'd filled the position of solo hospital librarian at St. Joseph here in Lexington. I'd already gathered that; it had been awhile, but seeing it in actuality brought tears to my eyes. I am really worried that I will not find a job before the hospital downsizes to an ambulatory care centre, and I am out of job. Still, I have to trust that things will work out, and I'll just keep applying till someone sees that I'm a good fit for their needs. At least I got a phone interview from these folks, and they did say my application was very strong and had a lot of merit. Still, that was the one down thing about the day. But I didn't dwell on it--I have faith that all will work out eventually.

Anyway, it's been a happy day, very productive, and decent despite delving into files (filing is not my favourite activity--in fact I see it as a necessary evil). After the filing was complete I had to go through and correct several errors I had uncharacteristically made in data entry, and I figured out what sheets were involved and what had happened in each case. Apparently when my blood sugar came down to normal after we adjusted my medicine, my contacts no longer were the correct prescription, having been prescribed while my glucose was running in the 200s. Now that it runs normal to low, my sight was blurry with the contacts. I had noticed a problem with reading signs in the distance while driving, but didn't realise how much trouble I was having with close up work. Apparently I put some charges on encounters of patients with the same last name, or next to the correct on on the list I work off of. There weren't a lot, but like I said, it doesn't happen very often, so this was significant. But I credited the incorrect charges and hunted down the correct encounters, and corrected everything, now that my files were easier to navigate. After that I put in new charges, being careful to double-check my work (I'm wearing my glasses now, which are an older prescription and much clearer), listening to Jesus Christ, Superstar, and when no one was in the library, singing along. I do love show tunes. I think on my phone I have that, Wicked, Les Mis, 'Doctor Horrible', Fiddler on the Roof, Rocky Horror, and the musical episode of 'Buffy: the Vampire Slayer'. :)

After work I decided to be a little proactive for the first time in months and went to my allergist for my allergy shots. I hadn't done so since October, because life kind of got in the way. I had to drop down quite a bit to a lower phial, but I was able to get them. I can go up to three times a week, and will try to go at least two times, because my phials expire in April and that way I can at least use up as much as possible before they have to reorder them. I can definitely tell a difference in my allergies without them.

As a reward for doing that, I went to the library. It's right next door, at least for now. The Eagle Creek branch of the Lexington Public Library will be closing on February 26th for good, with the new Eastside branch opening at Palumbo and Man O'War on March 15th. It's a little further away, but not too bad, at least by car. Right now I live within walking distance of the library; after it moves, it will be doable, but a pretty long walk.

So now I'm online using the library's Wi-Fi, downloading Windows updates, and blogging. I will miss this library. The other will be bigger, and have a lot more amenities, but I like this one quite a bit. I guess we live in a time of constant change, though, as places move in the name of progress, just like work is planning on doing.

I've been here about an hour (I browsed a bit, first). It's very bustling. Later I'll go home, have some crackers and peanut butter (hopefully tomorrow I can actually get some groceries!), and do a little work on the house. I'd also like to do some reading. I do plan on checking in with my friends. I did tell them to call if there was something urgent that came up.

Okay, I think I'll do a little surfing, and see if there's anything blogworthy out there. I may write later, but if not, good night.

Despite that, I'm feeling much better in general today

One, my hormones are probably settling down now that my period has ended, so no more crying fits for little reason. Two, I had blessed caffeine. I know soda doesn't has as much as coffee, but apparently three days of no soda equalled headaches and extreme lethargy for me, whereas today, when I was able to get fountain drinks at work with the promise to pay for them on payday, I was positively bouncy and talking a mile a minute. So I guess it's safe to say I'm addicted to that little bit of caffeine.

I found out today that one of my co-workers in scheduling will be out for two to six weeks, so I'm going to fill in again twice a week starting next week, for awhile. I think I can get everything done, still get to my appointments, and help them out. We'll see. I'll most likely be in checkout most of the time, for about five hours a day.

It's not good

when the first thing you do once you get home is to check your blood sugar and then wind up having to take some glucose tablets because it's all of 55 mg/dL, which is way too low, and if I'd realised just how low I was, I wouldn't have driven home until I could get it back up (70-130 mg/dL is the ideal range for a diabetic). So now I'm eating some crackers and peanut butter to bring it back up. I just thought I was getting sleepy because it was late, so I rolled the window down a bit (I was hot) while driving. But the shakiness didn't start till I got out of the car, thankfully. I will definitely be more careful in the future and test if I feel the least bit off before getting in the car.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Today was a bust, as days off go

But my last night of physical therapy went well,  and I came home and had hot chocolate and peanut butter with crackers,  played a little Civilization IV,  and now I'm making bread for tomorrow.  I had to guesstimate the amounts,  which is bad with bread,  but my measuring cups are at the bottom of a pile of dishes that frankly I don't want to do tonight,  or at least right now.  So I'm enjoying quiet time in the bedroom instead,  as I've had a headache for hours and it may help. I'm hoping tomorrow will be a better day.

I just wasted two hours of my life trying to do my taxes through TurboTax

Something I've done for years without any trouble. Next thing I know, it's costing more to do mine because I got an early distribution from my retirement, then it's costing some for doing my state taxes, which is normal, and then there's ANOTHER fee for taking my fee out of my refund. The next thing I know, it's costing $106, when I've never paid more than $35 before. I would do better going to a tax prep service. It wound up being roughly ONE-HALF of my refund. I am not going to write exactly what I am feeling about TurboTax at the moment, but here are some observations:
  • One, the stupid app that they tout crashed my phone, which has plenty of space and memory, so I'm suspecting it's the stupid app.
  • Second, I couldn't remember my password, because it required a special character, and the process was IMMENSELY stupid in trying to recover it, as it asked me a question that I answered, then asked me all sorts of questions that didn't apply to me (no, Intuit, I've never financed a car, ever in my life). Then I put in the answer to the original question one more time and it did, indeed, take it.
  • But it did it all on my browser on my phone, not on the app, which was annoying. So I had to type in my W-2 information, some of which it wouldn't take correctly, like my employer's street address. Any date was incredibly hard to correct if you got it wrong. It was, in short, incredibly difficult and annoying to do anything on TurboTax this year. The reason I didn't use my computer, which I brought to the library to get info from last year if needed, was that I'm on an open connexion here, and at least it should be more secure on my phone network, I assume. But this was the worst tax experience in my life. I'll be going somewhere else, that's for sure. Goodbye after probably a decade, TurboTax--you are too greedy for me.

I finally came out of hibernation

because I was hungry, which was good, as I my blood sugar was going a little low (68). I found a package of peanut butter crackers I'd forgotten were in my lunch bag and ate them, with a few multigrain crackers as a chaser. I feel a bit bleary, and my back hurts from so long in bed, but generally, I think it helped. I've found that a good lie-in bed is good for me about every three months or so, especially as I don't sleep like I used to.

The snow has stopped. I'm not certain how much we got. The parking lot drive is clear, and the steps are shoveled. I don't think I'll have any trouble getting out, as I just have to get the snow off of my car, which I can see from my window. I'm the only one who put their windshield wipers up last night; hopefully that will help. Today it's gloomy and there's perhaps going to be rain or a little mixed drizzle. But given how much rain we have in the forecast, the snow won't be around much longer.

One good thing about not eating much this week; I've lost four pounds exactly. It's not the best diet plan, and there's only so much peanut butter one can eat, but hey. I did eat a fish sandwich meal at the cafeteria Friday with the promise of paying later. Yes, I'm like Wimpy from Popeye. But I always do pay, so they let me; I just try not to abuse that. But otherwise it's either been bread and peanut butter or crackers and peanut butter for awhile.

Okay, I'll take the rest of my medicine and think about getting a shower. I'm moving slowly but really, isn't that the point on a day off? :)

I felt run down today

So I've spent most of the afternoon and evening in bed.  It's the middle of the night,  and I surfaced for water,  Lantus,  and brushing of teeth. Along the way I talked to two friends,  my mom (who is doing much better),  and replied to an email from an aunt.  I ate dinner,  and I blogged on the computer,  but I haven't posted that yet; I will in the morning.  I do feel better. I guess I just needed a lot of rest.  I plan to get up early and do some things around here.  I'm off for Presidents' Day (which is still new to us,  as it just started last year after years of no break between New Year's and Memorial Day).

It has been snowing just about the whole time I've been in bed. We were supposed to get 3 to 5 inches.  From my window,  it looks like three. That's not enough to be a problem after the morning,  so I should be able to go to the library and my PT appointment. I wouldn't want to miss my last session.

Okay,  I'm going back to bed for awhile.  Good night.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Blah

    For dinner tonight:
  • 2 California soy turkey patties from Morningstar Farms that has been in my freezer for I don’t know how long, and have thawed and refrozen at some point when my electricity went out
  • A can of spinach from the back of the cabinet
  • A stale piece of bread with honey on it
  • Four Jello snack pack sugar-free strawberry gelatin packs from October 2013, when I had a colonoscopy
I haven’t felt okay all day. I think part of it is hormonal (my period finally came back with a vengeance, although it’s almost over now). But part of it is that I simply am eating very little, or getting creative about what I’m eating in a near-empty cupboard. About all I have is some microwave popcorn, hot chocolate, some multigrain crackers and Nuthins, some of which have been opened and are stale, some of which haven’t, a few end-of-the-jar jars of peanut butter (from stopping and taking some over to my friends’, in case you’re wondering why there are so many), oatmeal, pasta without sauce, some rice and couscous, and the makings for bread. It’s going to be a long four days to pay day. I might be able to make some pasta with a little olive oil (I think there’s an inch in my little jar) and some herbs from the cabinet tomorrow. I have steel-cut oats I could make for breakfast. But otherwise I’m mostly eating crackers and a little peanut butter.

I went over to my friends’ house and helped with the Sunday chores and watched an episode of ‘Ugly Betty’. I wasn’t going to stay too long because I wanted to get back before it started snowing in earnest, but I wound up coming home about 2:30 after fixing him up some food to heat up later and I just went to bed for three hours, until I got hungry and came out and made dinner.

I am off tomorrow and want to get certain things done, although plans are subject to change. Among other things, I want to:
  1. Work on the house.
  2. Water the plants.
  3. Put water in the fish tanks.
  4. Do my taxes.
  5. Go to the library.
I have a PT appointment, my last, tomorrow, but I am going to try to do all the other stuff on my day off. I was happy to have a day that we were off but not the library, as I can come over and do some things on the computer.

Okay, I think I’m going to go back to bed now. I’m not sick, but I’m achy and blah and just have no energy. In fact, I’m writing this a little before 6:30 and I’ll go ahead and schedule the post later when I get my phone out here and get online with the hotspot. Right now, I just want to crawl into bed.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Home now

We decided to record 'Grimm' and watch it tomorrow, as they were tired and were all comfy in bed. I came on home. It's supposed to get really cold tonight; my apartment leasing office actually put up a notice on our building door for tips to prevent the pipes from freezing. At least all of our plumbing is on interior walls, so that helps. Which makes me wonder if I left my friends' kitchen faucet dripping when I got some water. I'll call them a little later and remind them to check.

I'm listening to the radio now. Ed Sheeran's 'Thinking Out Loud' is playing. I'm a little tired, a little sleepy, but not as bad as I have been on and off this week. I did a little cleaning up when I got home, and the house doesn't seem quite so bad now. Tomorrow I'm running by the pharmacy, taking a friend to the credit union, taking them shopping for sheets, taking one to the grocery, and then to their Valentine's celebration. So tomorrow will be busy. Our hiatus with the game was slated to end Sunday, but Brenda's got an ill member of her family who needs her to stay home with him until he's back on his feet, so it may be next week. I still have a passage to transcribe from awhile back, but the actual game notes were finished weeks ago. So I'll try to finish that. Also this weekend I hope to get my taxes done. I put my info through an estimator and I'm not getting much back at all this year from the federal and I usually get almost nothing from the state, usually about $25 or so, which is why I usually just donate it to one of the causes you can choose. We'll see. I may wind up doing them on my phone with the Internet down at home; it's probably more secure than going on the library's Wi-Fi network. I wonder if the library is open on Presidents' Day. We've only had that holiday off since last year, so I'm still not used to a February three-day weekend. But it would be nice to go over there and do some blogging. Or I could go to our laundry room, which has a Wi-Fi password hung up on the wall, a couple of chairs, and a small table. :)

I think I may do some reading. I've got several books out from the library, both paper books and e-books. I'd like to get them read. Good night for now.

I'm sorry I haven't updated much lately

I'm still without Internet at home, although I can get on with my hotspot, and I've only used about a fifth of my allotment in three weeks. But a lot has been happening lately, and I've come home just too tired to blog. But I have a three-day weekend and I'm hoping to get some writing in. Also, for now, I'm over at my friends' house waiting for 'Grimm' to come on while they're taking a nap. Since this is my computer (I've let my friend borrow it, as his needs a new power supply), all my settings are on my login, so I just went ahead and switched users and am using his Internet to get online.

So several things have come to mind over the last few days, things I've meant to blog about, but haven't. Here's the most serious:

There comes a time when, if we are lucky to live long enough, our own ageing and eventual mortality raises its ugly head. Perhaps it is dealing with the impending or actual death of a parent, or of a close friend, or perhaps even a diagnosis that is going to mean our own death within what suddenly seems a short time.

I will be turning fifty next year, the milestone so many dread, and to which I normally reply, ‘Well, it’s better than the alternative.’ When I turn fifty, I’ll have been at my current job for twenty years, and (unless I find something else soon) will be laid off the very month that I have my birthday. I’m feeling like an old fogey, and for the first time, I’m really afraid of age discrimination in the job market, and that as a solo medical librarian, I have harmed my job prospects because I don’t have the supervisory experience expected in most jobs looking for the length of career that I do possess. This despite the fact that I learn quickly, am great with technology, am very good with interacting with other people from all walks of life and am very flexible in terms of jobs I can do and my willingness to step in and help the team work out an issue. In the past few years, I have taken on another job in revenue cycle that has had me working with clinicians I never had much contact with before. I’ve helped out during temporary absences with things like foot pressure studies and patient scheduling, learning new systems and skills. It’s shown that I can do just about anything I set my mind to. But in the end, it may not matter, as the hospital is moving to an ambulatory care centre model, and there simply is no room for a library, librarian, or even the bulk of my charge entry job, as we will not be able to charge for outpatient facility fees. So I’m in a sort of limbo, looking for another job, at nearly fifty, after devoting most of my adult life to my organisation.

But adding to the uncertainty are issues of my own health and that of people close to me. Will my own health, which is not great, but which is managed, hold out until retirement? Will I lose people I love before I’m ready to let go? Am I up to the challenge of being a caregiver beyond what I have done for years? Will there be anyone left to take care of me, given that I have no children and a very small network of loved ones? These are all questions on my mind. For right now, I don’t have answers. Time will have to provide them. But it is all very unsettling. For now, though, while it is on my mind, the focus must be in living, in being with those I may lose, in doing what I can to help my own health. It is all any of us can do when faced with the march of time. In the end, it is how we live our allotment that matters.

Much less serious:

It's amazing how much attention you can garner while eating a pomelo.

I'd seen pomelos at Kroger and I have never had one and was intrigued. Sure they look like giant grapefruit, but I wanted to know how they tasted. But at $3.99 each, I wasn't going to try. Then I saw one in a little bag for 99 cents in the bargain bin, and bought it and took it home. Yesterday I took it to work with me, and was immediately bombarded at the lunch table by 'what is that?' and 'is that a grapefruit?' But it didn't stop there. Two people called out the same questions from a table, and another came over and asked me, too. I cut it in half, and that one half filled me up. It was actually quite sweet, not the tangy bitter grapefruit taste at all. I asked the staff in the cafeteria to wrap up the other half for me, and they were all curious about it, too.

It was quite an experience.

Back to serious:

It annoys me that icons like Gloria Steinem and Madeleine Albright seem to think that female supporters of Bernie Sanders can't be proper feminists or are somehow betraying their own kind because they do not believe that they should vote for Hillary Clinton simply on the basis of her gender. While I would like to see a woman as president, it's not my only criterion. Instead, I vote according to whom I think will do the best job leading the country and who stands for the things I believe in. For me, that is Bernie Sanders. I'm not saying I would not vote for Clinton should she be the Democratic nominee. But I seriously dislike her. Not as much as Donald Trump, mind you. But unlike Bernie Sanders, she says things based on politics rather than being consistent about her beliefs and assertions. I am tired of Washington insiders. Yes, Bernie has been a senator for a long time, but he's not in the pocket of big money, he's a maverick, and he's consistently been one for a long time, too. The only thing he might be weak on is foreign policy, and I'm sure he's smart enough to surround himself with the best people for that. Can he get things past Congress? I don't know. But I'd like to see him try. Also, I have trouble with the e-mail thing with Clinton. Seriously? I can't use my personal e-mail for my work, and I'm in a non-profit with no real secrets. But seriously, as Secretary of State? Granted, others apparently did not use encrypted government e-mail, either, but you know, that's dumb on all their parts, or at least dumb on their staffers' parts. I know people of Clinton's generation are not necessarily as tech-savvy as your average 20-year-old these days, but really? It's just dumb. How are you supposed to have any idea of national security if you can't grok that?

Despite the fact that many feminists have given feminism a bad name over the years, I consider myself a feminist. I do not support Hillary Clinton, true. I'd like to see a woman in office, but I do not want to see her in office, necessarily. The nice Jewish man from Vermont, old as he is, socialist as he is, even with his unfortunate choice of democratic socialist as description (if you don't understand while that's unfortunate, try reading some European history), is my choice. I have a Sanders bumper sticker on my car--the first time I've ever put a political statement on one of my cars. I'll definitely be voting for him in the primary. And Gloria Steinem and Madeleine Albright and the rest of those indignant feminists who think I'm betraying women can kiss my ass, because I have a mind of my own and I don't care what they think.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Fire monkeys and Mardi Gras

Lunar new year was Monday; yesterday was Mardi Gras. Hope both found you all well.  This is the year of the monkey,  especially the fire monkey.  Let's hope that the monkey brings us luck.

I don't know much about Chinese astrology (and so much online is absolute bunk,  I'm sure). But I do know I am a fire sheep/goat, which is interesting,  because I'm also an Aries,  the ram, which is a sign ruled by fire. So I've got a double helping,  so to speak.

The last two nights I uncharacteristically played Civilization IV rather than blogging.  Tonight it was dinner (two eggs and peanut butter with bread), which I am finished with and am now thinking of going to bed.  Good night.  I really will try to think of something important to write about tomorrow.  :)

Sunday, February 07, 2016

These are amazing...





YKWIA found these, and others of Alex Boyé's work, and we watched them together, in between several episodes of 'Ugly Betty'. It was a nice day. Next week the game resumes, even though it'll be Valentine's Day, and I'm looking forward to that. So today, although I cleaned house over there and did my laundry, was about relaxing in front of the screen and watching fun things. :) Hope you had a good weekend, too.

The last two days

I've gotten home late.  Yesterday it was about 1:30 am,  and then I was up till 3:30. Tonight it was about 11:30. But that's okay.  Usually I stress about all the things I should be doing; in reality we're on borrowed time in this life.  Sometimes the things others might think are a waste are actually more important,  like spending time with loved ones,  and I did that today.  Oh,  I still need to find a balance in all this and take care of my own home, etc.  But sometimes you just need to talk some things out, spend time together,  and screw everything else.

Thursday, February 04, 2016

Okay

I said I’d write more later while I was blogging from my phone in the middle of last night. Here’s the thing:

I saw my psychologist on Tuesday, and as we talked, I explained that although some things have come up that are stressors, physically I am doing much better about taking care of myself, such as taking my medicine and checking my blood sugars, and I’m trying to spend a little more time doing self-care and find a balance between work, my friends’ needs, and my own. I off-handedly mentioned that in addition to sending my endocrinologist my blood sugar values and medicine doses each week, I’d flipped the page over and taken last week and written down everything I’d eaten. I’ve tried to do that using phone applications, and I do really well for breakfast and lunch, especially on weekdays, but then slack off after work. Well, writing things down by hand seemed somehow to make things more ‘real’, and I didn’t let up on my resolve to get everything in. And what stared back at me in cold, hard truth, is that I binge eat at night, something I knew, but desperately tried to ignore or deny to myself, and something I’ve never really talked to anyone about, but I know my best friend knows, and occasionally he’ll make allusions to it. But I don’t remember ever really talking openly to him about it. And it is worse the ‘better’ I am at keeping track or limiting things during the day. It’s like I keep it together all day and then have a calorie blowout, several times a week, almost always at night.

My counselor gave me one of those Health Monitor booklets on binge-eating to go through. It gives the symptoms, treatments, and stories of people who overcame it. I was embarrassed, but I took it. I didn’t actually read it until the next day, when I had some quiet time. Since dieting seemed to make it worse, but many people who binge eat do need to lose weight, I was interested in how I should go about doing it. So what does a librarian do when faced with something like this? Of course, she looks for books. I remembered taking a class years ago through work with a book called You Count, Calories Don’t. I still have that. I also found a couple of books at the library that sounded promising, one on intuitive eating (mindfully paying attention to hunger and eating for sustenance and to ease hunger, rather than mindless eating), and I also saw one on binge-eating. There were also a couple of e-books that looked good, and I put holds on them. But there was one I could get through the library called The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl, (which was the result of a blog by that name) and that one I downloaded, and I began to read. The author, Shauna Reid, is Australian, growing up in a rural area on farm. But there were a lot of similarities in terms of our family life, our relationship with food, and so on. I only read the first couple of chapters that gave the background to the problem. The rest is about her quest to find the person who had been eclipsed by all that weight (she weighed even more than I do). I’m still reading. But it was like a giant lump rose in my throat after reading what I had. I can’t say it was truly an epiphany; it’s not like I didn’t know I overate. But just how much of my psyche was damaged with food as my main source of easing my issues hadn’t really sunk in. Now it did, and it took me aback.

So that evening I went to the Tates Creek library and checked out the two physical books that looked good, and then I went over and picked up A so we could try to work out at my complex gym (a tale in and of itself, and a humourous one at that, but I won’t go into it quite yet). Afterwards, we went by the store and he ran in and got a few groceries they needed. On the way to his house, I told him about my bingeing. Now, A is in a programme himself to deal with some of his issues, and the first thing he said after I confessed it was, ‘it’s good that you’re talking about it; that’s how to get through things that concern us.’ Basically, I was taking a first step to recovery, if you want to call it that.

So tonight I plan to do some reading. But also, today, I’ve tried to be mindful in my food choices. Nothing’s been forbidden per se, but I have mostly made healthier choices, and yet I didn’t feel like I was depriving myself of anything. All in all, I ate less than normal. And at lunch I saved a couple of items completely and ate them later in the day because my eyes were bigger than my stomach, so to speak—even though I had a late breakfast due to an appointment with my podiatrist, I got stuff that sounded good, but then, when I was full—and I was paying close attention to it—I simply stopped eating, and then took my food and asked one of the cafeteria workers to wrap it for me. I ate a side dish as a snack later in the day, and then ate the rest of the main dish right before I left work and went to physical therapy. So that was good. And then after PT tonight I ran by the store to get YKWIA milk, and did a little grocery shopping, and I did buy one sweet thing (pumpkin and chocolate chip cookies). Everything else was healthy. While I gave myself permission to eat the cookies even though they’re sweet and fattening, I only ate two, because 1) I’d become full after my dinner and 2) I felt okay just eating the two, not like I had to eat a whole box for some reason. Fortunately it’s also payday; the lower my food gets in the house, the more I actually eat, out of panic, rather than rationing, which is what most people would do. So that’s where I am right now, pleasantly full on two (not three) small burritos, some fruit, and two cookies, as opposed to last night, where I had a box of macaroni and cheese (that’s three servings), a can of vegetarian chili, a can of lima beans, two veggie burgers with cheese, and the Kroger version of Nutella, right out of the jar. It was crazy—and that was after being told about the eating disorder and recognising that I have it. It’s actually been worse before.

Treatment normally consists of cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectical behavioural therapy (which I’ve undergone before, and still have the manual to fall back on and practice with), as well as other forms of therapy with a mental health professional. Also, there is one medicine that has been approved for it, but I’m not sure it would be good for me to be on it. On the one hand, it is also used for ADHD, which I have, but in people who are bipolar or depressed, it can make symptoms worse, including suicidal ideation. It’s also a controlled substance, being a type of amphetamine, meaning that to be on it, you have to pee in a cup every month, or at least that’s what someone I know does to keep his Adderall prescription going.

So that’s my story. In order to be healthy, I need to not focus on losing weight, but rather take a look at my relationship with food (and exercise) and come up with a plan for weight loss based not on the calories, or the scale, or the like, but rather being mindful, reducing distractions, and making better choices both in food and activity. The last time I lost a significant amount of weight, I wasn’t really trying, but I think I did those things, until I got stressed and fell back into old habits. So here’s to taking what one paper I read called a ‘weight-inclusive’ view towards healthy weight and how to attain it and ‘normative weight’, meaning all the stuff we hear about diets, etc. Both require dedication and someone who enjoys trying to improve life, no matter how much of an uphill battle it seems to be. I must do everything in my power to become that person.

Okay, this is a long post—time to sign off for the night. I’m getting a little sleepy, despite some late caffeine. Good night.

Processing...

I am really examining something about my life that has a profound effect every day on how I am doing at any given moment. It's not the most pleasant of things to think about,  and it brings up many unpleasant emotions and memories,  but I need to do this. Once I get some thoughts collected,  I'll write,  but for now,  I'm just reading various things and thinking.

On the plus side,  A and I worked out for a little while today.  It was a start,  anyway,  and about as comical as YKWIA imagined.  At least we didn't break anything. :)

Okay,  good night for now.

Tuesday, February 02, 2016

Heading to bed

I forgot to say Happy Imbolc/Candlemas.  And the groundhog predicted an early spring.  Hopefully he's right!  As it was, we got into the mid-sixties today,  so I wore Capris and sandals.  Not bad for February,  although I did get some strange looks.  The sad thing? I was still hot most of the day. Perimenopause,  I guess.  It's also giving me a giant zit on my cheek.  No fair!  Acne was bad enough as a teen! Still no period.  I may have to do my libation at dark of the moon instead. Anyway,  good night!

Monday, February 01, 2016

I certainly found it so

Uninstalling Facebook app saves up to 20% of Android battery life: Facebook’s Android app negatively impacts performance and battery life, even when it’s only running in the background, users find

Frustrated by having to charge my Samsung Galaxy S5's battery by noon in order to have any juice by evening and preventing the phone from shutting itself down by dinnertime, I removed Facebook, Messenger, and a few other applications that I was using infrequently. The results? At the vvery least about 30%-50% or more battery at bedtime, and not having to charge during the day at all. I can still check social media through my Chrome browser. I rarely used Messenger, anyway, and it was a space hog as well. In fact, now that I removed those applications and backed up my photos from my SD card to the computer, I now have about a fourth of my internal storage and half of my SD card free again (several of the applications were partly stored on the SD card). And things are opening a lot faster. Yay!